Pretty The World
by queenofthelooneybin
Summary: Sweets finds out the sister he thought he imagined is real. She becomes part of his life, as well as the lives of several others, including Zach. But happily ever after may be hard to reach. Re-write of Sooner Surrender.
1. Chapter 1

Note:

Over a year ago, I started writing a story called 'Sooner Surrender'.

Mid-way through, I suffered a slight nervous breakdown. Rather than take time off, I powered through, and it showed in my writing. So now, in my current state, I have decided to re-write it.

Starts out in season 5

Presenting…

Pretty the World.

Disclaimer: I do not own BONES, nor any of the characters. I do own Starbuck, Ripley and Conners.

Xxx

1991

"Happy Halloween Boo."

Six year old Lance Delaney took a fun sized candy bar from his pocket and offered it to the small child before him. The little girl in front of him stared at the small Snickers bar for a moment and looked up at him.

"It's good," he attempted to assure her. "Candy."

Boo took the candy and stared at it some more. She stuffed it in her mouth as soon as she could. Her real name was Starbuck, but he called her Boo. It had started when she was a baby and he was three, and he had yet to break the habit. She was probably his sister, because even at his tender age, Lance knew that his mother wouldn't take in another child out of the kindness of her heart. Both children had curly dark hair, but her skin was darker and his eyes were brown while hers were a bright green.

No one but the residents of 1408 Haddonfield Road knew that Boo existed. It was like the younger child was a ghost. She never left the house, never spoke and often disappeared for hours on end. Boo could fold herself up really small and hide anywhere. Lance would find her folded under his bed or inside a cabinet, her eyes darting to and fro, taking in everything around her.

If she ever talked, Lance knew she would have a lot to say.

He went to school, but he didn't have any friends. He found companionship in books, some he brought home and read to Boo. He didn't know if she understood any of it, but she enjoyed nearing him talk. That he knew.

If she was his sister, then they had the same mother. Lance knew his father, though. He lived with them sometimes, but Lance would rather that he stayed away. Lance had no memories of a man that claimed to be Boo's father. He filled that role in a way. After all, he loved her, made sure she ate, changed her, read to her and sometimes hid her so their mother would go after him instead.

Their mother got angry at the drop of a hat. She drank a lot and when she was in a rage, she would take it out on whichever of her children she could find. Over the years, both children had suffered, but Boo got it worse simply because she was home more.

The sounds of footsteps on the steps made both children jump. Lance grabbed his sister and shoved her into the closet. He grabbed a picture book and pretended to read it.

The door creaked open and he shut his eyes.

It wasn't their mother.

Lance recognized her. It was a social worker that had come to his school yesterday. He had talked to her. He had mentioned his mother drinking a lot and getting mad,

Social workers took kids away from their homes. It happened a lot on their street.

Of course, this wasn't a bad thing. They were escaping to a better home, where they fed and loved you. Boo would learn to talk, read, smile. She would be a real kid.

Both of them would be.

Xxx

2009

The envelope sat on his desk, taunting him.

Until a month ago, Lance Sweets had believed the memories (what little he had) of his half sister were the imaginings of a only child in a bad place. His parents had never mentioned that she existed. Yet again, he had lived in what was basically an orphanage for six weeks before they took him in. When he grew older and started to study psychology, Sweets ended up self diagnosing. His sister wasn't his sister, he had imagined her so he could have someone to share the horrors of home with. It explained why she never left the house or talked back.

But as August had come to a close, he had gotten a box in the mail. The residents of his childhood home had tracked him down and mailed him a box of things left over from his childhood. After digging out paintings, toys, report cards and a blanket, he had found a picture at the bottom. It of himself at about five, holding a toddler in his arms. On the back, in the large, sloppy print of a child were the words 'me and boo'.

As soon as he could, Sweets had started pulling strings and calling in favors so he could find her. Not that he had much to go on. All he knew was that she would be 21 now. And now, it seemed that she had been found. And from the look of the envelope on his desk, she was alive and well, as it was stuffed with papers. Sweets had yet to read any of them. All he had done was open the envelope and stare. The agent he had asked to help him assured that she would get everything she could.

Now that it was here, Sweets couldn't bring himself to open it. She was probably alive and well, maybe even well adjusted. But if she had gone to a bad home, or even if she just hadn't been able to fully move past their childhood, she could be worse. A million possibilities ran through his mind. Drug addict and hooker were the best situations. Then, of course, there was dead.

But he had to know. And if she was alive, he would make sure he made up for not being there.

Taking a deep breath, Sweets slid the first paper out.

Xxx

Note 2: More tomorrow, I swear. I have most of that typed out. I just wanted to get this up.


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Thanks to all my lovely readers and I love Sparkley Scars for alerting and faving!

Zach is back, having been cleared in season four. The real apprentice struck again but was not caught.

The squinterns are still there, as their increased caseload allowed them to keep the little darlings. Hey, they may not be Zach, but they've grown on me.

Disclaimer: I do not own BONES, nor any of the characters. I do own Starbuck, Ripley and Conners.

Xxx

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me that Snape kills Dumbledore?"

"And good morning to you too,"

Conners Moore sighed and threw herself onto the seat across from where her friends sat. She waved to the waitress, Darcy, who waved back and began to pour a cup of coffee for the blue haired girl. Conners, along with her friends, went to the Royal diner every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday for breakfast and got the same things every time. This had been a routine for nearly two years.

"Dude, everyone knows that Snape killed Dumbledore," Ripley Moss said through a mouthful of oatmeal, some dripping down her chin.

"I didn't!" Conners protested. "You know I hate spoilers."

"She has a point," Starbuck Mendoza added, not even looking up from her own book.

"Who does?" the other two chorused.

"Both of you. Neither of you. I don't know," Starbuck muttered, shrugging. The movement sent her hair into her coffee. While she didn't notice, the other two did, but chose not to speak. Starbuck had a tendency not to notice when things happened to her. Her brain was too stuffed with random things for her to pay attention sometimes.

"Does Harry die in the next one?" Conners asked, throwing up her hands.

"Well…technically he does," Ripley said. "But he comes back. And he marries Ginny. They have babies."

"STOP SPOILING THINGS!"

"Children," Starbuck warned them.

The trio had been friends for years. Starbuck and Ripley had known each other since they were twelve and they had picked up Conners a few years after that, when they were high school sophomores and she was a freshman. While they were a year apart academically, the older two were three years older than the younger one. Conners had been moved up a year while the other two had both been held back one. All three attended American University, which was a bus ride away from the diner. But today, they weren't going to the campus. Starbuck's Calculus class had been canceled and Conners was skipping her yoga class. They were tagging along with Ripley's anthropology class on a trip to the Jeffersonian, Starbuck out of genuine interest and Conners out of boredom. They were a family, or as the half Japanese Conners said 'Nakama'. When your name was as strange as theirs, you kind of had to bond.

"Yes Mom." Ripley grinned.

"Don't call me Mom." Starbuck said. "Dammit, my hair. Again."

The bell above the door chimed and out of habit, Conners looked over her shoulder. "Hey Star, that guy is here."

Starbuck froze in her seat, then snapped back, her hair hitting her shirt, staining it. The guy in question was now walking up to the counter, talking to his friend. Ripley giggled at the blush on her friend's face.

The guy in question was another frequent diner patron. He came around the same time as they did, and had been for the past six months. As they saw each other several times a week, they had built was what technically a relationship. They exchanged 'hellos' and smiles but that was it. And that had taken months to get that far. After Starbuck had made the mistake of telling her friends that she thought he was cute, they had begun to push her to talk to him.

She knew that they wanted her to be happy, and in their heads, happy meant dating someone. Starbuck had never had a serious boyfriend, if serious meant more than three dates and an exchange of feelings. She had done that former, but instead of the latter, there were usually an exchange of fluids. Ripley was never alone, usually dating a guy for a couple weeks, and then moving on. Conners was only 18, and even she had been serious with someone. High school barely counted, but still.

Starbuck preferred to immerse herself in violent, fictional worlds. She loved horror movies, novels and comics. Most of the things in her head were trivia related to her area of interest and her walls were covered in posters from her favorite movies. More than one man had been too creeped out by Freddy's claws or Captain Spaulding's grin to come back. The images came to her in her dreams. Sometimes she wondered if dreaming about blood and gore rather than sex was normal, then realized that for her, normal had gone on an acid trip and never come back years ago.

"Go talk to him," Ripley urged, but Starbuck shook her head.

"Why not?" Conners asked.

"What am I going to say?" Starbuck fired back.

"Hello."

"Good morning."

"Lovely weather we're having."

"You're sexy."

"You two are insane."

Starbuck glanced at the man. He was cute, in a geeky sort of way. He brought out the desire to be carried off into a tree somewhere, but he didn't seem like the Tarzan type. And now he was on his way out. She inwardly sighed with relief.

"He got away," Ripley said.

""He looks like a dollar store version of the Ken doll. I wonder if he's anatomically correct," Conners mused, causing the other two to sputter, sending oatmeal dribbling from Ripley's nose. Starbuck turned a bright red and checked her watch.

"C'mon lets go. We have to be at the Jeffersonian in a half hour," she said, waving Darcy over.

Xxx

Note: Coming up next: Zach's POV, more of the trio and some other random references.

Review please?


	3. Chapter 3

As Zach walked to his office to fetch some samples for Hodgins, he took a moment to stare at the twenty or more people in there that had randomly appeared ten minutes before. They looked to be in their late teens to early twenties. While most of them were well-behaved people, there were a few running around like children off their Ritalin. Zach then remembered that the anthropology class from American University would be visiting. While they were studying what was technically cultural anthropology, they were still going to visit the forensic anthropology area of the lab. The squints had been told to play nice. Though Zach just knew that they wouldn't understand half of what they saw, much less anything he said.

"Wow. This place is shiny." This statement came from a young blond woman standing a few feet away. She was leaning against the wall, staring at the equipment. Even Zach noticed her body, as her frame was out of proportion for someone with her chest size.

"Shiny?" The younger female standing next to her delivered a pinch to the blonde's arm. With her Asian/Caucasian features and bright blue hair, Zach was reminded of an Anime character. "We are in a lab that solves murders on nearly a daily basis, has made leaps and bounds towards progress and has tables worth more than both of us put together and all you can say is shiny?"

"And it smells funny." She then smacked with a book. "Ow!"

Zach had never felt more right than he had right at that very moment.

This sort of thing had been going on for months. As part of a plan to revamp the Jeffersonian's image, schools had been bringing in their students for guided and unguided tours. Despite the scene he had just witnessed, Zach preferred it when the college age students visited. They were the least bothersome. Elementary and middle school students were nightmares, to quote Hodgins. They ran around, screamed and occasionally cried when they saw something that disturbed them, which ran from dead bodies to Hodgins.

Zach had been released six months ago, a month after the program began. It had been unsettling to say the least. While part of his treatment at the hospital was geared towards improving his social skills, he still wasn't very good with people. In fact, he was even more wary of them then he had been before. After all, he had been threatened into admitting to a crime he didn't commit and the Master had even had the real apprentice set it up so that even if he denied it, Zach still looked like the killer. He had tried to tell people he hadn't done anything, but in the end that had proved futile. It had been sheer luck that had gotten him free. There had been a Gormogon style murder in Chicago, but this time, the killer had left DNA at the scene. It had taken several months, but Zach had been freed and was attempting to live a normal life. After six months, his life was the way it had been before the Gormogon had interrupted it. Though now Angela was trying to pimp him out to the female college students.

The hallway leading to his office was empty and he didn't have to listen to the chatter of the visitors. In fact, there was no one there but himself. Zach grabbed the samples and began to walk down the hall.

"Oh shit, sorry." A woman's voice brought him out of his thoughts. Zach's eyes flicked up to see a young woman standing in front of him. The lack of distance between them made his heart jump, more out of shock than anything else. They had almost run into each other. "Hey, don't I know you?"

Zach nodded. He did know her, in a way. He saw her three times a week at the diner. Sometimes she was accompanied by friends, two women who he now realized were the pair he had observed a few minutes before. This woman was the shortest, he guessed that she was maybe five feet tall. Her black hair was wild, frizzy and her green eyes blinked twice in the time he looked her over.

"The diner," he managed to say.

"Yeah," she said. "Are you part of the class?"

"No. I am a forensic anthropologist."

"Really? Cool." She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Well, I have to get back to the tour. My friends are going to be looking for me."

Zach nodded and she dashed down the hall, waving. He didn't wave back, just stared.

"Who was that?" Angela asked, appearing from out of nowhere.

"I don't know," he answered. That was the truth. He didn't know her name, or anything else about her. She was merely a familiar face.

Xxx

Sorry it's so short!

Review please and thanks to those who have!


	4. Chapter 4

Note: Thanks for hanging in there guys. Stupid site wasn't working. *le sigh*

Review replies (last chapter only, sorry to the rest)

Musicismyhero- Thanks for the review! And here's more!

BrighterXx- Another one posted for ya!. The difference will become apparent after the first 15 or so chapters. The evil twin plot will be gone, or at least totally different. There will be a road trip more of Starbuck's life between three and twenty one will be revealed. Plus Naomi isn't going to be a Big Bad, rather a bitch. ALSO, in case anyone who had wanted to learn more about Lisey and Emma (now Ripley and Conners) will like this version, since it does just that.

Xxx

Vast-Mart was the most blatant Costco ripoff in the state of Maryland. The superstore, located three blocks from the Rockville Metro station, sold everything in bulk and what they didn't sell in bulk were things like TV sets, some books, furniture and canoes. The last item was on display all year round in the back corner of the store. On slow days (of which there were many), employees took their breaks there. Three of the store's employees were Starbuck, Ripley and Conners, who were spending that very slow night tagging merchandise. The shift manager had gone home early, leaving Starbuck in charge.

"Hey, you guys want to go anywhere for Christmas this year?" Ripley asked as she stuck price stickers on packs of gum.

"Not after last year," Starbuck shuddered.

"What was so bad about last year?" Ripley.

"Do you have to ask? I am never, ever going back to Tijuana again," Conners stated flatly.

"It wasn't that bad. Aside from the injuries and life scarring, we had a good time," Ripley.

"Dude, it was awful. I cant look at carrots or barn animals the same way again," Starbuck.

"I nearly got hypothermia. In freaking Mexico." Conners. "How can you say you had fun?"

"Okay, that thing with the pencil was pretty bad, but I wasn't even nicked, thanks to gel padding!" Ripley.

"You sound like an infomerical." Starbuck.

They stopped at the end of the candy aisle for a short break. Conners took out her iPod and cranked up her latest download, which was the Lady Gaga CD. The woman was quickly becoming Conners' new idol. Meanwhile, Ripley began to text her latest conquest, some guy whose name Starbuck didn't remember. It was no good learning the names of Ripley's flavors of the week. They were usually gone in less than a week and once while holed up at home with the flu, Starbuck had missed two guys come and go. She often wondered how Ripley did it, then remembered that her friend had two sources of magic on her chest, whom were named 'Ben and Jerry'.

Starbuck lay on a flatbed covered with a tarp and closed her eyes. It had been a long day. The tour hadn't been so bad. After that, she had to take a test in Psychology and then ended up chasing a bus halfway down a block…twice. Her car was in the shop until the end of the week, which meant she had to rely on the area's notoriously unreliable/inconvenient bus system.

A beep echoed throughout the store, signaling that someone had come inside. Ripley grinned and began to poke Conners until the younger woman stood, letting out a long suffering sigh. They took turns attending to the customers on nights like that. And since they would be closing in fifteen minutes, she planned to get whoever it was out of there as soon as possible.

"Welcome to Vast-Mart, how may I help you?' she droned, not even bothering to turn off her iPod.

"Is Starbuck Mendoza working today?" the man asked. He was a bit taller than Conners, pale with wavy dark hair.

"Are you a cop?" she asked, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"No," he said. "I just need to see her?"

"Why?"

"I'm her brother."

Conners barely suppressed a gasp.

Xxx

Sweets could sense that the girl in front was very protective of Starbuck. The way she stood indicated that she would use herself as a barrier between him and Starbuck. He recognized her. She in many of the photos his contact had sent him, usually with a cigarette and a copy of the sixth Harry Potter novel.

"Bullshit. Star is an only child," the girl fired back. According to her nametag, her name was Conners.

"We were separated when we were young," Sweets said.

"Do you have evidence?" she asked as she began to fiddle with something in her smock pocket. It could have been anything from a price gun to a taser, which made him uneasy.

"I have this," he said and took out his wallet. The picture was folded up in there. He handed it to Conners, who studied it for over a minute before handing it back.

"She never mentioned a brother," she said, her eyes still distrustful.

"As I said, we were separated years ago, possibly before she was old enough to remember."

"She's in aisle four. I'll have 911 ready, just in case."

"Not a problem."

Conners led him through the superstore, keeping one eye on him at all times. Finally, they reached aisle four. Sitting there were two women in the same smock as Conners. One was playing with her phone, her eyes intensly focused on the screen. The other lay on a flatbed in what looked like a meditative state.

"Star, get up, you have a visitor," Conners said, poking her in the arm.

"Who is it?" she mumbled.

"Your brother."

"I don't have a brother. Quit bullshitting me."

"Yes you do. Long lost one."

She sat up and pinched Conners before turning to face Sweets. The photos didn't prepare him for what he saw. They were taken at a distance, and that meant the photographer didn't quite get her features.

Starbuck looked a lot like their mother. She even had her eyes.

"Boo?" he whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

"You must be mistaken. I'm an only child."

"I work for the FBI. One of my co-workers tracked you down. And he's very good."

"No. I'm an only child. I would have been told if I had any siblings."

"You have our mother's eyes."

"A lot of people have green eyes."

"You look so much like our mother."

Starbuck gave the man across from her a long, hard look. They were sitting on her front porch. No one was home and she wasn't planning to end up on the morning news. She was sipping her Coke, trying to process what the man, Dr. Lance Sweets was telling her. He was her half-brother, or so he said. He had presented her with a file that some FBI drone had gathered on her as well as showed her a picture of a pair of children. The girl looked like her and he resembled the boy.

Normally she would have kicked him out of the store or off her porch, but she chose to hear him out. Her friends had followed them home and they were keeping watch from Ripley's house, which was across the street. Plus he seemed to genuinely believe that she was the girl he was talking about.

But it couldn't be true.

"You were adopted when you were three, right? By a Raul and Esmeralda Mendoza?"

"Yes. They're my grandparents. My mom and dad were killed in a car accident when I was three."

"You have scars all over your back and torso right?"

"From the accident."

His silence told her everything.

"Can you please go?" she asked, not wanting to meet his eyes. Sweets nodded and handed her his card. She took it, stuffing it into her jeans pocket.

"I have connections at the Jeffersonian. We can get a DNA test done if you want."

"I'll think about it."

As soon as he was in his hair and out of sight, Starbuck went into her house and up to her room, sitting on her bed. All this information had hit her in less than half an hour and as a result, she felt a little dizzy.

Ever since she was old enough to start creating her version of her life's events, Starbuck had considered herself an only child and orphan. The sort of victim of a random accident. That her birth parents had been kind people who had been taken too soon.

So she had refused to wonder why half her scars looked more like cigarette burns or why there weren't any pictures of her with her parents, or any of her mother at all. Maybe a part of her had known all along and had shut down that part of her mind to protect itself. Or maybe she had been too young to remember.

Not that she was complaining. After all, her grandparents had taken good care of her, making sure she had everything she needed and was happy. She called them mom and dad, and they never treated her like she owed them for all they had done. She was grateful.

But knowing would have been nice.

Starbuck took out Sweets' card and stared at the tiny row of numbers. She had only said she would take the DNA test to get him to leave, but the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to do it.

So she picked up her cell phone, took a deep breath and dialed.

"Hi, Dr. Sweets, this is Starbuck Mendoza…."

Xxx

Next chapter will be longer and will mostly take place at the lab. Review, especially if you want more Ripley and Conners antics.


	6. Chapter 6

Note: Sorry for the wait. Life has been crazy. Like insane. But it's slowed down for now!

Well, we all have learned a valuable lesson: if the episode title has 'heart' in the name: we will be emotionally devastated. Vincent will be missed dearly and probably kept alive in this story. Since I am about a year and a half behind, timeline wise, things may change.

Some Ripley and Conners wackiness. They will still be the comic relief they were in the orginal, only with a more twisted sense of humor and expanded back stories.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Spoilers for the last two Harry Potter books up ahead.

Xxx

"Hey, a dead person!" Ripley squealed and pointed.

"Don't sound so cheery!" Conners scolded her, eyebrows raised in alarm.

"You don't see them every day." Ripley scoffed and walked up to the platform.

"Thank God," Conners muttered and trailed behind her. The body on the platform had hair, more than she did. "Holy crap. Did her hair grow?"

"That story about nails and hair continue to grow after death is just a misconception. Once a person or an animal dies, both nail and hair growth stops. What people perceive as nail and hair growth after death is merely an optical illusion. After death, the body dehydrates, which makes the skin shrink around the skull and skeleton. With the shrunk skin, more nails and hair get exposed, making them appear as growing. Funeral workers moisturize the body with creams to keep it hydrated*." Ripley said cheerfully and went back to studying the body, glee all over her face. Conners face-palmed and went back to her book. She worried about Ripley sometimes. A lot.

They were at the Jeffersonian, three days after their last visit. Starbuck was there for the DNA test. Shed had spent the whole time fretting. She had been keeping this a secret from her grandparents, which had been eating at her. While she had kept secrets and lied to them before, they had been small. Not something that altered family history. Her friends knew and had been very supportive of the whole thing. They knew that she had always wanted more family, and a brother had been at the top of the list. Ripley was an only child and Conners was a middle child who only had half-siblings that she wasn't close to. They were each other's family, and that meant supporting each other in high tech, Maury esque escapades.

"Look at that fine specimen. And that one. Makes me glad to be alive," Ripley whispered.

"Dude, I knew you were sick, but come on! Tijuana was bad enough, but necrophilia? That's gross, even for me," Conners gagged, a look of pure horror on her face. Ripley turned to her, looking confused.

"I am not talking about dead people you sicko," Ripley snapped. "Them."

She pointed at the men standing by a door on the other side of the lab. One was tall and skinny, with stubble and a sort of emo look about him. The other was a little bit shorter, but more built and was clean shaven. The former was a brunette and the latter was blond.

"The tall one looks like he wants to kill himself," Conners muttered.

"Let's go say hi."

"I don't wanna say hi…"

But it was too late. Despite her looks, Ripley was almost freakishly strong. She had her friend across the room in a matter of seconds.

"Hi," she said, smiling broadly.

"Hey," the blond guy replied, nodding.

"You work here?" Ripley asked, twirling her hair around a finger.

"Yeah," the emo said, his eyes fixed on her breasts.

"I've read that one," the blond said to Conners, referring to the book in her hands. She was still reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. "That's the one where Snape kills Dumbledore, right?"

Conners paled as much as she could. "Snape kills Dumbledore?"

Meanwhile…

Cam withdrew the cotton swab from Starbuck's mouth and put it inside a tiny Ziploc bag with a label that said 'Medoza, S' on it. She placed it next to a similar bag that was labeled 'Sweets, L'.

"And we're done. The results should be in by the day after tomorrow," Cam said.

"Cool. Um, thank you Dr. Saroyan," Starbuck mumbled.

"Yeah. Thanks so much Cam," Sweets added.

"No problem," Cam smiled at both of them. They left the room a few minutes later. Cam, while she wasn't one of the bone people, could tell just by looking at them they were related. They had similar facial structure and hair, though hers was longer and not held down with hair care products. She hoped she was right. Sweets didn't seem to have much family and he had sounded so excited when he called and asked for the test.

"So, dinner tonight?" Starbuck asked. They had agreed to have at least one meal together before the results came in. If they were related, then it would be a stepping stone to becoming a family once again. If they weren't, then maybe they could become friends. Starbuck had started to drift over to his side of thinking, but remained mostly skeptical as not to give herself false hope.

"Definitely," he said.

Before he could add where, there was a shout from the main area. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE LOVED HARRY'S MOM?"

"Oh crap," Starbuck slapped her palm to her forehead. "That's my friend. Can you text me the details for tonight? I have to take care of this."

"Sure."

Xxx

Sweets invited her to the diner, which was one of his places. Next time, they would meet on her turf. His second promise, one that was easier to keep than the first.

"How was your day?" Sweets asked. It came out so shrinky, so squinty, so stiff that both of the burst out laughing.

"Fine. How was yours?"

"Also fine. I had to field questions all day about where you came from and who you exactly are."

"I would have gladly done that instead of having to take a test on yoga positions."

They laughed at the bizarre day and quieted. It still amazed Sweets that after years of hoping and wishing he could find her and then making himself deny she had never even existed after he failed (his adoptive parents, even though he thought of them as his real parents had changed his last name, and he didn't know if her grandparents had or had not and if they had to what), she was finally here.

Even though she still thought that they might not be related, Sweets just knew. And even if she wasn't, maybe they could be friends. They did get along well enough.

They commenced telling each other their life stories. Sweets told her about growing up in a quiet suburb with his kind, elderly parents. They encouraged his vast mental abilities and made way for every opportunity, no matter what they had to sacrifice. He told her the madcap stories of his adolescence, which was spent in college. As there were few, he played them up to keep her smiling. As children, he hadn't seen her smile enough. Now, he would make up for it. He told her about the Jeffersonian, and she outright busted up laughing at some stories and grew solemn at others.

After him, it was her turn. Starbuck explained that her grandparents, Raul and Esmeralda had relocated to Rockville so her grandmother could get her thyroid cancer treated. They were good people though. They had raised her Catholic and done everything they could to give her a normal life. As Lance thought, she didn't talk until she was five, and only started speaking freely at seven. She told him about her motley crew of friends, how she read all the time and had spent hours reading the letters, looking at the pictures and surfing the Net hoping she would find him. He learned she liked to read and dance.

They parted ways around nine. He went to go see Daisy and she went home. They agreed to see each other in 38 hours, when Cam would have the results.

Xxxx

*quoted from hairgrowth dot tv


	7. Chapter 7

Note: In case anyone was wondering why Conners freaked out when Wendell mentioned Snape killed Dumbledore when in Chapter Two she already knew, it was because she was messing with him. But she actually did not know that Snape loved Lily Potter.

Sorry it's been so long. I've been stuck. For those who read the original, may I ask a question. This applies to the ones who haven't too. There were side pairings in 'Sooner' (Lisey/Fisher and Emma/ Wendell). Should the new versions of them have romance as well? And with whom? Just no Fisher. I have my reasons… Or should they remain just comic relief?

Xxx

It was nearly time.

Starbuck sat at a table, chewing her nails and glancing out the window, at her feet every few seconds. In less than an hour, she would know for sure whether Lance Sweets was her half brother or just a man who was looking for some sort of family. She knew the feeling. Even though she loved the bit she had, Starbuck had always longed for that missing piece that a brother would probably provide. Maybe that how Sweets had felt.

Their need for a family had led them to form new ones. His was larger and more varied, complete with paternal figures and extended family roles. The trio she led were merely sisters, except for the times when she played Team Mom.

Speaking of the girls, they were unable to be with her right now. Ripley had an early class and Conners had a doctor's appointment. They would have been a welcome distraction. Alone with her thoughts, Starbuck thought she was going to tear her hair out.

Five minutes until she had to leave, as she would be walking to the Jeffersonian. She was killing time at the diner. Starbuck kept playing with the sugar she had spilled on her Psychology textbook. Her cup of coffee was beside her, getting cold. She traced patterns in the white dust. A star, a smiley face, a squiggle. Her hands were shaking, which was what had caused her to spill the sugar in the first place. According to her grandmother, Starbuck was a nervous person. That had been her answer when Mrs. Young, her kindergarten teacher, had asked why she didn't talk.

_Oh, she's just a nervous person. She'll talk eventually. _

Eventually hadn't come soon enough for her teachers and in first grade, she had been put in Special Ed until high school. That had been where she had met Ripley, who had been stuck in the classes due to undiagnosed ADHD and reading difficulties caused by a need for glasses. Both had been corrected in the 8th grade. Being the closest the program had to normal (the school system had lumped everyone with some sort of difficulty together, from the dyslexic to the actually retarded to the hyper kids), they had become close. The Mendozas saw Ripley as another daughter. The same went for Conners.

However, whether they would welcome Lance into the family so easily remained up in the air. After all, he was a connection to a part of the past that Starbuck had a feeling that they wanted to forget. That would explain why they had omitted so much of the truth. They wanted to forget that their son had left his child in the care of a madwoman that probably would have killed both children if they hadn't been taken away.

If he was her brother, Starbuck would fight to keep Lance in her life.

"Good morning."

She nearly jumped out of her seat. Standing next to her booth was Zack.

"Oh hi," she mumbled, nearly knocking her cup of coffee over. "What's up?"

He stared blankly at her for a moment, going through his mental files. "I'm getting breakfast with some of my colleagues."

"Cool. The eggs are great. And the um, hash browns are alright. Most of the time."

"I ordered the egg and cheese omelet."

"That's pretty good actually."

Her watch beeped and she jumped a bit. "I have to go. It was nice seeing you." She smiled slightly as she slapped some money on the table and waved over the waitress. Zack nodded and she was soon on the streets.

Soon, she would know.

Xxx

Sorry it's so short. It's just…writer's block sucks so much. I just had to get that chapter down.

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

"So, who was that girl?"

"What girl?"

Angela had just dropped up her end of case paperwork at Cam's office and had gone onto the platform where the guys were packing away the body, so it could be sent to the funeral home. Hodgins had also taken it upon himself to ask Zack about the diner girl.

"There's this girl at the diner that Zack actually speaks to." Hodgins smirked as he gently put the skull into the box.

"Really?" Angela turned to Zack, an eyebrow raised. In turn, Zack was pretending not to be a part of this conversation. "Tell me about her."

"She eats at the diner and goes to American University. And I believe she's in her early 20s, so Hodgins calling her a girl is inaccurate."

"She looks like Inara," Hodgins kicked in and Angela let a knowing smile cross her face. She knew about Zack's…thing for the Firefly character. Considering that he wouldn't even let Hodgins whisper when she was onscreen, it hadn't been hard to figure that out.

Zack shook his head. Starbuck's face was rounder, her hair wilder. Her nose was a bit bigger, as were her eyes and she was smaller than Morena Baccarin in all areas. Not her mention the different eye colors. But when he tried to point this out, Angela just waved her hand and Hodgins smirked.

"You should ask her to the Halloween party next month," Angela suggested.

"I do not know her well enough to ask her anywhere."

"That's the point. Ask her out so you can get to know her."

Zack shook his head. He wasn't ready to date anyone just yet. His therapist had agreed with him, saying that he wasn't in the right place to be with anyone right now. He wouldn't be for a while. He was sure that the others would understand if he told them, but Zack wasn't comfortable sharing the details of his therapy sessions with them.

So he let them do this.

It felt like old times.

Xxx

"The DNA results came back. You two are half-siblings."

Cam said the life-changing words rather calmly. A huge smile broke out on Sweets' face and he swept Starbuck into a surprisingly crushing hug. She smiled but, it wasn't very big. Hell, she was in shock.

I have a brother.

The words rolled around in her head for a while.

I have a brother.

For most of her life, Starbuck had wanted a brother more than anything. It would make her family complete, for a lack of a better word. Maybe the others would adopt him. They didn't have any brothers, or at least ones they knew. Conners had two brothers, one six years older who lived in Europe and a two year old who she only saw once a month.

It was weird. After hoping for so long, she had finally gotten what she wanted.

"You look very…surprised," Sweets said, stepping back.

"I'm fine. It's all a bit much, you know?" she replied, batting a chunk of hair from her face.

"Yeah, totally," Sweets shook his head and grinned. "Come on. Let me introduce you to my friends."

She had to smile. He was like an excited kid, all smiles and energy. Cam gave them one last smile and Sweets led his sister out of the room, eager to find someone he knew. After all, they were the closest thing he had to a family. When he had told her, she had thought he was being metaphorical. But she really got it now.

A tall (at least to Starbuck) Asian woman came up to them, a curious look on her face.

"Hey Sweets," she said. "Is that her?"

"Yeah. The results were positive." His smile was at face breaking levels

"That's great! I'm so happy for you." She then hugged the both of them, which sort of made Starbuck uncomfortable and wonder if everyone here was a hugger.

"Starbuck, this is Angela, the imaging specialist. She can be very physically demonstrative," Sweets said.

"You make it sound like a bad thing." Angela laughed. "Have you told anyone else?"

"Just you and Cam. We just found out."

"Booth and Brennan are out, but Hodgins and Zach are still here." She gestured for them to follow her. Starbuck briefly wondered if she was referring to the Zach from the diner. But she just shrugged it off and followed them.

Xxx

Meanwhile, Ripley was walking around a 7-11, killing time. Her class had ended early and she was just waiting for a call. As she rounded the corner of one aisle, she began to dig into her bag for her phone. Not many people knew that she was a worrier. Car accidents, drive by shootings, falling bricks, hurricanes, you name it. So whenever she felt a tingle of worry, she texted her friends.

Just as her fingers closed around her phone, she ran into someone. It sent her into the display case.

"Shit!" she cried. "I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's alright." The man shook his head and offered his hand. "Need any help?"

"Nah. I've got it. Thanks though."

Ripley stood and brushed herself off. She looked him over. He was cute, Middle Eastern, and had sinfully sexy eyes.

"Hi," she breathed. "I'm-"

Before she could tell him her name, her phone rang. Since her ringtone was Aqua's 'Barbie Girl', the mood wasn't just broken. It was shattered. Ripley just nodded and mumbled something before fleeing the store.

"Hey Rip."

"Oh, Star. Hi. You okay? Did the results come in?"

"Um…yeah."

"And?"

"There's less than a one percent change we're not related."

Ripley began to squeal and jump up and down. "Oh my god! I am so happy for you!"

"Thanks. You would like Angela."

"Who?"

"Someone I met today. Can you call Conners and ask her to meet me and you at the diner in a couple hours."

"Sure, no problem."


	9. Chapter 9

"Que sera, sera. What will be, will be."

"Mom, can we talk?"

Essie Mendoza stopped cutting up the carrots she had been planning to put into that night's salad and turned to her grand-daughter. Though the way they had raised her, she was their daughter. Legally and emotionally.

When their son had gone missing, they had hired several private detectives to find him. They had no other children, just their son. They had tracked him to a woman's house and had spotted her son. The detective had called social services when he had noticed a fading black eye on the child. He hadn't thought that Miguel would be connected to the woman anymore, but to his shock. There was another child in the house, his alleged daughter. They had taken her in right away, even though there was a chance that she wouldn't be Miguel's.

They never found him, but the tests had proved Starbuck was his daughter. At least they had that.

It seemed that with every good thing, the bad was doubled. There was a lead on Miguel, but the trail had ended there. He had a daughter, who couldn't speak and hated being touched. Starbuck learned to talk, they kept her back a year in school and she had no friends. Raul's annual check-up was clean, Essie had cancer and they had to move.

But at least she was in remission and it looked good. Things had only started looking up after they moved here. Starbuck made friends, Essie got better, Raul was able to move on. He had been the most affected by Miguel's leaving. Essie had missed her son, but she had wanted to make peace with it. Raul had kept hiring people, following leads all over the country. But after they moved to Maryland, he had stopped. The shadow of Miguel had faded.

"Yes honey. What is it?"

"I found out I have a brother."

Essie dropped the knife.

They had kept the secret because they hadn't been able to get the boy. They could barely get custody of Starbuck and she was theirs. So they hadn't told her, so her heart wouldn't break.

"Did you know? That he existed?"

"Estrella," Essie used her grand-daughter's nickname from when she was a child. "We couldn't keep him. He wasn't ours and the courts found him a good home before we even found out you were related to us. We didn't want you to be hurt."

Starbuck started to blink furiously. Essie knew that meant she was trying not to cry. Everyone had their tells.

"Well, I found him. He lives in DC. He works for the FBI, as a shrink."

"Really? What's his name?"

"Lance Sweets."

The back door banged open. Raul entered the kitchen with a plastic bag of groceries and a bundle of store brought firewood. Their cat, a orange and white tabby named Tulip followed him in and immediately went to her food dish. Raul looked at his wife and grand-daughter.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Starbuck took a deep breath and started her story all over again.

Xxx

Note: AGH! It's so short, I know. But alas, that is the fate of a chapter when WRITER'S BLOCK hits me like a mofo. My new medication is fucking with me all the time.

Next chapter: Some Starbuck/Zack and which ever one of the henchchicks (my nickname for Ripley and Conners) you want to see. I have bits written for each. There will be a poll on my profile for Conners' love interest. Vote please. Sorry if this story seems like it's crap, but there is a plot. Several actually. Just need to get things ironed please. My brain is soupy now. Tata!


	10. Chapter 10

"There's paper in your hair."

"Oh crap. Not again."

With a sigh, Starbuck reached around and picked out a small ball of paper from her hair. It hung loose and wild, which sort of explained the six tiny balls of paper stuck in it. Zack just stared, observing her fail utterly. She managed to get two pieces out and turned back around. "Did I get them all?"

"No," he said.

"Dammit! Can you help me?"

Zack nodded and stepped behind her. As he was a foot taller than her, he needed to crouch down to get to her hair. As he bent his head, he caught a whiff of her hair. She smelled like green apples. Zack took a deep breath and quickly plucked out the bits of paper out of her hair.

"Thank you!" she said brightly. "These guys in my Psych class were spitting these at everyone. I guess my hair is like a paper magnet or whatever."

"Papers can not be magnetic, as they are-" Zack began to go off on a rant but was cut off by Starbuck putting her hand over his mouth.

"Z-man, I was being metaphorical," she said gently, a slight teasing smile on her face. Zack noted that she wore rings on each finger, creating cold spots on his mouth and chin. He nodded to convey his understanding. She let go and sat back on the sofa.

They were sitting in the lounge area that looked over the lab. It was a Wednesday night, with nothing special going on. Starbuck was waiting for Sweets at the lab. They were going to have dinner that night. They had been seeing each other every day for the past month, making up for the years they had spent apart. She came to the lab a few times a week for lunch, bonding with Angela during that time. Zack didn't know what they talked about, maybe magazines and men. He didn't really know what women talked about.

To everyone's surprise, Zack and Starbuck were on their odd little road to BFF-dom. They talked a lot, which was the confusing part. Somehow, she didn't crack at more than half her references going over his head. Zack noted he felt at ease with her, when usually he was on edge around women. He was that way around her friends. Ripley was good looking and friendly. Perhaps a little too friendly. Conners was intense. He could have been imagining it, but he swore she was glaring at him constantly.

"Come on. Sit with me," she said cheerfully, patting the space next to her. Zack was waiting for Hodgins to finish up so he could get a ride home. He took a seat next to her. She leaned against him, her head on his shoulder. "I'm tired," she muttered. "You mind?"

The smell of her shampoo wafted into his nostrils.

"No," he managed to get out.

"Thanks man."

A stray curl brushed against his cheek and Zack reached to put it away on her head, and it ended up around his finger. If she felt anything, Starbuck gave no signs. She seemed comfortable in her current spot. Zack didn't mind it either.

"Ahem."

Hodgins stood in front of them, an almost amused smile on his face. "Hey, Zack, I'm ready."

"I'll see you tomorrow," Zack said awkwardly.

"Yeah. See ya," Starbuck gave a little wave to both men and started to roll up her sweatshirt to use as a pillow.

"Dude, you gotta be careful." he said.

"Why?" Zack asked, honestly confused.

Hodgins just stared and shook his head.

"Why?"

Xxx

It was twenty past seven. Three minutes had passed since Conners had checked her phone for the time. She had been here for a half hour, and had long since finished her latte. There weren't even any drops left and she had shredded two napkins during her wait. A few packets of sugar had fallen as well, a fine dusting covering the tabletop before Conners. She cursed picking up her friend's bad habits.

Two minutes later, she checked her phone again.

The guy was twenty-two minutes late. Conners sighed and began to sweep up her mess. He wasn't coming. She had wasted her evening for nothing. Maybe it would be salvageable.

The day before, she had gotten a message on Facebook from her sort of high school boyfriend, David Jackson. They had been an item during the last few months of their senior year and had hooked up on and off over the next year. He had gone to University of Maryland, which wasn't too far from where she was. They saw each other whenever, usually for sex. Her friends didn't approve at all, claiming that he was using her. Which was totally true, but she was aware of it and was using him as well. Why couldn't a young woman such as herself want good sex? Ripley had a different boyfriend nearly every week, and well…kinky didn't quite describe her. She was so insane that she made it seem normal. On the other end of the spectrum, Starbuck was very picky and it was like pulling teeth getting her to talk about her sex life. If Conners hadn't seen her and some guy going at it in a bathroom during a concert, she would have to say her friend was a virgin.

But somehow being the middle made it okay for her friends to treat her like a child. Maybe it was because she had turned 18 in August while the other two were 21. But 16 was the age of consent in Maryland and DC thank you very much. She had been nearly 17 when she had hooked up with David. So age didn't matter.

It had been a couple months since she had seen him (for a tumble at her house while her mother was out of town) and when he had messaged her, Conners had been a bit excited, and had agreed to see him. They had arranged to meet at a Barnes and Noble near Georgetown.

And he was twenty-two minutes late. Conners had thought this would be their first real date since high school. She had found a skirt in the back of her closet and a top that didn't make her look like a total dork and had been waiting. And waiting.

And waiting.

Now that she realized he wasn't coming, she got up and decided to browse. This store was huge, bigger than the one near her house. She needed to pick up a copy of Wuthering Heights that didn't have the Twilight inspired cover and the latest issue of MAD so she could have something to read in the bathtub.

There were actually a few sane copies of Wuthering Heights left and she spent a few minutes browsing, cheered up slightly. While her friends were indifferent to Twilight, borderline anti, Conners loathed the series. Mostly because every character was a douche or under-rated. Alice reminded of Starbuck on crack and several other drugs, while Rosalie reminded her of Ripley, with her bitchiness magnified. Conners considered herself Leah-esque.

"Hello."

Conners turned to see a vaguely familiar man standing next to her. He had a few books in his arms and a slightly quizzical look on his face.

"Hi," she said slowly, her brain trying to remember who he was.

"I don't know if you remember me, but, um, I work at the Jeffersonian and I've you and your, er, friend there a few times. I'm Vincent. Vincent Nigel-Murray."

Oh yeah, the British guy who had spouted something off about Harry Potter book sales the one time they had met. Conners had been reading the final book at the time and had all but forgotten about him.

"Oh hi," Conners nodded at him, clutching her book and magazine to her chest, attempting to cover her chest, feeling suddenly self-conscious. He had quite pretty eyes, and they held some bit of intelligence, which many boys her age lacked.

"It was nice to actually meet you," she said, actually a tad nervous.

"Yes, it was lovely."


End file.
